We are excited to introduce our video series – Wage & Hour Issues in the Workplace. In these videos, members of LCW’s Wage & Hour practice group will provide various tips that can be implemented in your workplace. We hope that you will find these clips informative and helpful!  …

On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the matter of Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903. The California Supreme Court reinterpreted and significantly altered the test for determining whether workers in California were properly classified as independent contractors for the purposes of the wage orders adopted by California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC). The Court established a new test, often referred to as the “ABC” test,…

The term “hostile work environment” is used – or rather, misused – so often, that its meaning has become somewhat obscured.  In an office full of fans of the local sports team, the sole fan of its archrival may say that being singled out as such creates a “hostile work environment.”  Or, in a workplace full of fashionistas, the sole person who prefers casual wear may claim that the environment is “toxic” due to coworkers’…

In 2015, someone shot a police officer and a suspect was later arrested.  While off-duty, a SWAT sniper commented on a friend’s Facebook post which linked to an article about the shooting.  He wrote, “It’s a shame he didn’t have a few holes in him.”  An anonymous tip came in about the post, there was an internal investigation, and the officer was transferred out of SWAT and put back on patrol.  The department felt that…

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers allowed some of their employees to work from home (i.e., “telecommute” or “telework”) in the interest of public health.  We are now entering our tenth month of the pandemic, and working from home has become “the new normal” for many employers and employees.  Now, as vaccines will become more readily available, there is hope that the pandemic will end soon.  In a post-pandemic world, employers will…

On January 8, the Department of Occupational and Safety (Cal/OSHA) updated its interpretive guidance concerning emergency COVID-19 regulations that took effect on November 30, 2020. The guidance reflects new information concerning employer obligations and employee entitlements under both Title 8 Sections 3205 and 3205.1, which, respectively, relate to the COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP)[1] and workplace COVID-19 outbreaks[2]. While Cal/OSHA provides additional information on more than three dozen topics, the purpose of this special bulletin is…

We are excited to continue our video series – Tips from the Table. In these videos, members of LCW’s Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining practice group will provide various tips that can be implemented at your bargaining tables. We hope that you will find these clips informative and helpful in your negotiations.  …